Pneumatic valves and regulators have been used in a variety of contexts including windshield wipers, brakes, fluid spraying devices and marking guns. It is desirable to have a constant pressure source when operating such pneumatically powered devices so that the devices will operate predictably.
The standard unbalanced regulator suffers from a phenomena known to those skilled in the art as "droop", i.e., the cylinder filled with pressurized air set at a pre-set regulated pressure has pressure fluctuations within the cylinder such that as one moves away from the source of input pressure, the pressure curve inside the cylinder deteriorates. In an attempt to alleviate the effects of this fluctuation, the pre-set regulated pressure often must be set at a level within a band that encompasses the desired output pressure. Furthermore, the overall effect of having a band over which the output pressure will be released, coupled with the pressure curve deterioration, means that most regulators can use effectively only 65 percent or less of the cylinder volume.
Additionally, many of the pneumatically operated devices are used under conditions that provide for variations in the ambient temperature which affect the pressure of the gas in an output chamber.
In contrast, the regulator described in the present invention is balanced, and thus maintains a constant flow of pressurized gas into the pressure output chamber which does not reflect variations of input pressure. The pre-set regulated output pressure is maintained constant for the full volume of the cylinder. Furthermore, the regulator described in the present invention incorporates a temperature compensating device and has integrated pressure relief valve features which provide for even greater accuracy in ensuring constant output pressure.
One of the many applications of the present invention involves it use in marking guns. Marking guns have been used for wildlife management and in strategic or tactical games such as paintball games. Paintball war games have become a popular recreational sport. To avoid injury, organizers of paintball war games often dictate that paintballs fired from paintball guns shall not exceed a set velocity. Accordingly, it is advantageous for paintball players to use guns that emit paintballs at a velocity that approaches the upper limit of the set velocity without exceeding that limit. Thus, manufacturers of paintball guns have attempted to design paintball guns that will apply a consistent force to paintballs so that they can be more accurately and consistently fired. Many paintball guns are gas-powered. Thus, maintaining a gas pressure at a pre-determined pressure provides for consistent operation of the paintball gun.
Most paintball games are played outdoors where there can be wide variations in the ambient temperature. Because temperature changes can affect gas pressure, changes in the temperature in the geographic area in which the paintball game is played may cause changes in the velocity with which the paintballs are fired from the paintball guns. Furthermore, leaks may occur which affect the pressure applied to the paintball in the firing chamber.
Some paintball guns have attempted to provide for such temperature variations with a screw threaded into a tubular bolt through which the gas flows to power the paintballs. By adjusting the amount the bolt is screwed in, the pressure applied to the paintball can be adjusted. This regulating mechanism is awkward, imprecise and permits adjustment for only a limited range of temperature and velocity variations.
Other paintball guns have multi-port plugs that are rotated to ports of varying sizes that permit regulating the amount of gas flowing to the paintball by regulating the size of the port through which such gas flows. Unfortunately, this regulating mechanism can accommodate a limited range of temperature and velocity variations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,442 (Tippmann), U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,594 (Robinson), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,778 (Kotsiopoulos) disclose gas-powered paintball guns. However, none of these references disclose a paintball gun with the pneumatic valve and regulator described in the present invention. Thus, paintball guns that incorporate the present invention will operate more consistently and with greater efficiency than currently available paintball guns. For example, paintball guns using standard regulators typically can achieve approximately 1100 to 1200 shots from a standard pressure source. Because the current invention is effective over a broader band of output pressures, the regulator and valve disclosed herein can achieve 1600 shots using the same pressure source.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a unique sealing technique that provides for a better pneumatic valve.
It is further object of the present invention to provide an integrated pressure relief valve in a regulator.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a regulator having temperature compensating features, relief valve features and pressure balance features.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a regulator having a temperature compensating device which includes a temperature compensator that is made of a synthetic compound material which expands and contracts at a rate that is inverse to an equals the rate of change caused by changes in the modulus of elasticity of a helical compression spring caused by a temperature differential.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun system that can supply a steady source of pressure on the paintball to be ejected from the paintball gun.
Another object of the invention is to provide a paintball gun system that accurately and efficiently projects paintballs under a variety of atmospheric conditions.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from perusing the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.